Sweet Saviour
by Murasaki Kaida
Summary: GrimmHime. AU oneshot. Orihime finds that one good turn deserves another. No fluff. Very faint romance, if you squint. Mainly just them in character. Rated for Grimmjow's potty mouth


Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach. It all belongs to Kubo Tite.

A/N: Title of this is meant to be a (bad) pun of what's going in on the story. This is request fic for Liekomfg at LJ, using a picture prompt. Beta'd by Lilmisfits8811. Please R&R!

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The day was still sunny enough that Orihime felt like doing more than just going home, eating and working. She realised that she should probably be studying for the finals but the girl had the strangest feeling that she wouldn't be able to concentrate without allowing for a little downtime first.

It hadn't been a very good day.

Not that she was complaining! No, Orihime had had a wonderful lunch (although her friends hadn't seemed to share her enthusiasm) and she'd been a fairly good student in all of her classes. Tatsuki had told her about how she'd won a karate competition and it had been cause for celebration.

Orihime just couldn't figure out why those girls, Loly and Menoly, had joined the Handicrafts Club when all they ever seemed to do was laze about and mock her and Uryuu.

She really wasn't sure what insulted more – the fact that those girls had been saying mean things, or that they were obviously not interested in and had been flouting the club. The club was her favourite part of her day and very close to her heart. Something she took seriously.

Uryuu had told her to just ignore them but it was difficult. She'd never responded well to hostility, especially when she tried so hard to be liked by everyone.

Orihime watched her feet thud against the pavement and her shadow lengthen in front of her. She could feel the rhythmic bounce of her satchel against her thigh as she walked on towards home. It would be good to do something different today – just to get her mind off of her school woes. She glanced about her, squinting in the sunshine and noticed that she was near the park.

Oh! She could take the path through the park to her house – that at least would be more scenic than crossing over busy roads and going through town. Her brother had always wanted her to take the busier route because he said that in public places there was less chance of bad things happening to her.

She supposed she could understand that, but Orihime also thought the busier route had its equal share of dangers to its plus sides. So…it wouldn't hurt to go through the park just once, right?

She smiled, angling towards the mid-calf length wooden posts separating the entrance of the park from the town and stepped over them. Already the difference was stark – the grass was bright and springy. Little flowers burst out in sporadic patterns, some flattened by some other visitor's feet. Healthy trees created little breaks of shade in the sun and swayed in the breeze.

Orihime took the mud path dog walkers normally followed and walked through the well-tended park. It was so peaceful – such a great contrast to the cars she could hear zooming down the road in the distance.

It was only a small park – after only a few minutes of walking, she'd reached the centre of it and could see the gate at the other end. The children's recreational area had been shut off for rebuilding. All of the older playthings had become hazardous, filthy and well beyond repair. Since the children had little reason to come here, the park tended to be abandoned.

Which was why Orihime was so shocked when she saw the body under the tree.

She jumped, apologies for her intrusion already bubbling past her lips before she noticed the familiar pale blue hair and the way the body was slumped against the trunk of the tree. That hair…it could only be the guy in her year, from school. The one who kept fighting with Kurosaki-kun and cutting class.

She tried to remember his name. People talked about him often enough but Orihime ignored gossip and thus ignored his name by accident as well. He was something of a legend at Karakura High. So many rumours flooded the mill where he was concerned. They claimed that he fought in underground fighting rings. That his fighting had led him to having so much plating in his body that he was practically half robot (she actually liked that rumour). That he sold a child on eBay and used the money to buy a pizza ("That's a cheap kid," Tatsuki had remarked with a grimace).

Grimmjow! That was his name. A strange name, so she should have remembered it, but then Orihime sometimes did have little blackouts.

"Grimmjow…san?" She asked quietly, leaning forwards to peer at him. She couldn't see his face at all. He was just…laying there, his head hanging forwards like he was a forgotten puppet. His blue hair was spiked, as usual, into a strange style – slightly conical, she thought, and giggled when she remembered that old film about the Conehead aliens.

Wasn't that leather jacket he was wearing getting hot in the sunlight? The tree he was under did nothing to shade him and the sun's beams cut directly across his form. He had to be burning up, unless –

God! What if something was wrong with him?! Maybe he had bad heat stroke or – or diabetes or something!

Orihime panicked. She dropped her satchel to the grass and darted forwards, kneeling by his still form. "Grimmjow? Grimmjow?!" She slapped at his shoulder.

What if he was diabetic? Was he in a hyperglycaemic coma? And she'd given Chizuru her last pocky, too!

"D-don't worry, Grimmjow-san!" She bit her lower lip, wondering how quickly she could find candy and get back here.

He grumbled.

Relief charged through her as his head moved – jerked, before slowly lifting. He stared at her with blank, foggy eyes. Orihime exhaled, smiling. "Oh, thank goodness! I thought – "

A palm pressed against her forehead and shoved.

Orihime yelped, falling back onto her rear. She quickly pinned her skirt down between her legs in case she flashed him and stared at the blue-haired man in confusion.

Grimmjow's irritable blue eyes fixed on her and the tattoos beneath them lengthened as he glared at her. "The fuck do you think you're doing, chit?"

Orihime flushed. She'd never really interacted with him and it had completely slipped her mind just how bad a temper he had. "Ummm…you didn't look very well and I thought maybe…"

He rose to his feet – a tall, muscled bulk – and glared down at her with his hands thrust in his jeans pockets.

"…you were diabetic?"

Grimmjow stared at her. And barked out a harsh laugh.

"I get it. You're that fucking la la chick." He kicked at blades of grass with his combat boots.

"I was just trying to help!" Orihime said, hurt. "I thought maybe you weren't at school because…"

"Get real!" He snorted, his tone bored. "See what I'm wearing? I never planned to go to that shithole. Do me a favour and don't try to 'help' again."

Orihime gulped, wincing as he stormed past her with a blast of spicy scent. She stared at the spot where he'd been…well, sleeping apparently.

No wonder Ichigo had told her to avoid Grimmjow. The guy didn't even appreciate genuine concern for his health.

She blinked back tears and stared down at her splayed legs. Her rear hurt now. He could have at least told her to go away rather than shove her.

And now she had dirt on her uniform.

Orihime struggled to her feet, dusting herself off. She'd heard that attractive men were always mean, but she thought that because Ichigo and Uryuu were nice then maybe that was just a silly saying.

Grimmjow was attractive. And he was definitely mean.

Orihime picked up her satchel, putting it over her shoulder. Maybe she was just judging him too soon. Everyone was different, right? Some people had a hard life, too, and they couldn't all be expected to smile all the time.

It wasn't an excuse to shove someone, of course, but…

"Orihime."

She tensed. The mocking voice carried across the air to her with the snickers of someone else. Orihime looked up, clutching the strap of her bag.

"What're you doing here, all alone?" Loly sneered, her oily eyes taking in the dishevelled state of the orange-haired girl's uniform.

"Who've you been rolling in the grass with?" Menoly chimed in, pointing at grass stains on Orihime's socks. The two girls exchanged cool glances, their grins growing wider.

Orihime backed up a few steps and looked for a way to leave without any trouble. Without Uryuu's cool indifference she felt vulnerable. She was suddenly feeling the full force of their hostility.

"Always known you're a tramp," Loly grinned.

"N-no!" Orihime gasped. She tried to force a smile, hating the idea of a confrontation. "No, that's…I have to go now! I'll see you at – "

"You're not going anywhere," Menoly declared, moving closer. Loly stepped up to Orihime until she was so close that the girl could smell her overpowering perfume.

A hand snapped out and grabbed some of Orihime's orange locks, yanking. Pain flared in her scalp and she cried out, her head tugging to one side.

"Just looking at you makes me sick, you perfect little teacher's bitch!" Loly snarled.

Orihime reached up, trying to pry the hand from her hair – only for Menoly to twist and pin both arms behind her back. She looked at them both pleadingly – wishing they'd just get over whatever problem they had with her and let her go home. Her brother had been right. She should always take the busier route.

"You're not even that special," Loly continued, pushing her face close to Orihime's. "Your face is all messed up."

"Not symmetrical," Menoly agreed.

"Yeah." Loly slapped the side of Orihime's head and she whimpered, the sting of it making her eyes brim with a fresh onslaught of tears.

She had nothing to do with her teachers – they treated her no different than anyone else. She may be quite popular at school, but it wasn't like she did it on purpose! She had no idea what she'd done to deserve this.

"Bet those tits are fake." Menoly nudged Loly, who snorted.

"Yeah – told you she's a slut, Menoly." Loly's palm cracked against Orihime's cheek and she cried out, tears slipping down her face. She struggled anew but couldn't shake Menoly's grip. "Who you putting out for, Orihime? Is it that dork with the glasses? You guys doing more in the Handicrafts closet than just getting supplies?"

"Please, stop!" Orihime yanked her body to the right in an escape attempt, only to receive a sharp kick to the knee. She buckled, pain flaring through her joint. Menoly shifted to hold her up by her pinned arms, forcing her to remain standing.

"It's Kurosaki," Menoly smirked. "I heard she ditched her pink-haired lesbian lover to sit on Kurosaki's face."

"Hah! And here I thought Kurosaki was kinda prudish when it comes to what this slut likes," Loly laughed.

Orihime sniffled. Her arms were starting to hurt now, and her knee felt like hell. It was nothing compared to her feelings, though. _Is this going around the whole school – this opinion of me?_She thought as hot tears spilled down her cheeks.

"We're here to help you out, Hime," Loly smirked, her voice saccharine. She tugged Orihime's hair again, wrenching out another cry. "We're gonna help you go cold turkey by busting your face up so bad no one would wanna touch you."

Orihime's eyes widened.

Loly drew back her fist, her lips stretching into a sinister tooth-baring grin. Menoly pinned Orihime's arms tighter, chortling in the girl's ear.

"Say bye to the light, chickadee," Loly laughed.

Orihime flinched and squeezed her eyes shut so that she didn't have to see all this cruelty anymore. Her face was hurting already – both from the slap and the foreshadowing of Loly's fist, which seemed to be taking forever to reach her. She felt for an absurd moment a wish that it would hurry up and get her.

A startled cry followed by a thud made her jump. Had it been her? No…her face felt the same. What…?

The grip on her arms released and Orihime stumbled backwards. She blinked her eyes open, shaking blood back into her limbs.

Loly growled as she tried to push herself up from the ground. Menoly yelled, her feet dangling off of the ground as a strong fist held her up by the collar of her blouse.

Orihime gaped.

Grimmjow snarled in Menoly's face, grinning at her horrified look. He flung her away from him, sending her sprawling hard on her back into the dirt.

"BASTARD!" Loly jumped at him in a shower of punches and kicks. Grimmjow – in a now familiar move – gave Loly a bored scowl, planted his hand on her forehead and shoved.

Stunned, Loly stumbled backwards. She wobbled but didn't go down. Grinning in triumph, she looked up at him – and screamed when his boot slammed into her stomach.

She slammed to the ground. Orihime flinched. God – that had looked very, very painful and she felt a burst of sympathy.

"Grimm…jow…" Loly gurgled, gasping for breath. "You…fuck…"

"That hole's only good for making you money so shut the fuck up," he snapped. He pointed a finger at Menoly, who'd managed to sit up and was rubbing her neck. "You – take your pimp and get the fuck outta here."

"Y-you'll regret – " Menoly started.

"I don't think so somehow." Grimmjow kicked her in the calf and she shrieked. "Get gone."

Orihime wrapped her arms around herself and stared as Menoly hauled a winded Loly up and dragged her off.

Grimmjow looked at her, his hands in his pockets. His eyes narrowed and she instinctively tensed. "What – you can make up some dumb diabetic story and try to help a stranger but you won't help yourself? That it?"

She gulped. "Fighting doesn't make things right…"

"Oh, sure," Grimmjow laughed. "So just get beat on, that'll be real fucking good. You'll definitely be able to get rid of the bullies one punch at a time."

She hung her head. What could she say? He just wouldn't understand. "Th-thank you all the same, Grimmjow. For your help."

He stared. "Tch, don't get the wrong idea, woman. I had problems with those bitches anyway."

She gasped as he forced her chin up with rough fingers. She hadn't even realised he'd gotten so close!

His eyes were an amazingly vivid blue – she wasn't sure if they were like that anyway or if it was an illusion caused by his tattoos. Her cheeks heated.

"Don't let me catch that shit again, woman. Or _I'll_ beat sense into you, too."

He pulled his hand away from her, his leather jacket crunching as he turned his back on her. Orihime watched him stride away, his walk filled with arrogance and self-confidence. It was a walk that promised things she was innocent to – tempting things.

He turned a corner, disappearing from sight.

Orihime smiled. She adjusted her bag on her shoulder and walked carefully on her sore leg. The rumours at school would be awful after this, she knew. But somehow, she didn't mind so much.


End file.
